The success of Bright Ideas Entertainment LLC could be seen on television with the debut of its new sitcom, "My Parents, My Sister & Me," on WXIA-TV, the Atlanta NBC affiliate. The show airs in select markets. Over the next two years, additional television ventures will be launched including "American Skateoff," "Branches," "Elementary My Dear" and "The Chen Chins." Bright Ideas Entertainment plans to launch its five new shows over the next two years. The shows, the company says, are designed to establish a marketplace presence for Bright Ideas Entertainment that will be indelibly ingrained into the psyche of global cultures all around.
Read the whole story .......

Some viewers still struggle with digital TV
For most viewers, the antenna is the problem.
Wisconsin State Journal, November 25, 2009
Mike McKoy gets frustrated when the new digital picture on his old 30-inch RCA television freezes. “It comes in so clear, when it comes in,” said McKoy, a Madison deliveryman. “And it comes in most of the time. But it’s aggravating during a Packers game. Actually, it’s more aggravating during ‘Jeopardy!’”
Read the whole story .......

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Updating Lip Sync Issues Pt 2
AV Fingerprinting Helps Detect Lip-Sync Errors
by Mary C. Gruszka, November 24, 2009
The industry seems to be making some progress in the detection and correction of lip sync errors, as evident through sessions and presentations at the recent AES convention, IEEE BTS Symposium, SMPTE Technical Conference, and ATSC seminar on loudness. Making accurate in-service measurements on a variety of dynamic program material as it's being played out and aired has been tricky. Emerging audio/video fingerprinting technology may hold the key to a broad range of solutions.
Read the whole story .......

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Updating Lip Sync Issues Pt 1
by Mary C. Gruszka, November 23, 2009
If some friends invite you over to check out their favorite TV program on their new wide-screen flat-panel display, you may not want to mention how bad the lip sync is off. Even if they are tech savvy, your soon-to-be, not-so-friendly friends may get upset that they will no longer be able to enjoy their program now that they see the lip-sync problem. It would seem that what's glaringly obvious to some of us can be totally unnoticeable to others. And that's one of the frustrations in defining and correcting lip-sync errors.
Lip-sync errors can occur just about anywhere as audio and video signals wend their way through acquisition, production, post production, plant routing, master control switching, distribution, and home reception. CCD cameras, microphone placement and technique, frame synchronizers, standards converters, digital audio sample rate converters, audio multiplexers, audio embedders and de-embedders, film-to-tape transfers, digital video effects processors, post-production editing processes, server and hard-drive storage systems, switching and routing systems, bit-rate reduction encoders and decoders, handling of presentation time stamps, LCD and plasma displays all can contribute to audio and video synchronization errors.
How bad does a lip-sync error need to be to be noticed?
Read the whole story .......

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Making Green 'Cool'
ADDING NEW MEANING TO GREEN
November 20, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO: Electroluminescence, a form of "cold light." has been available in commercial products for some 50 years now, but until very recently, never really made it into the broadcast arena. However, KPIX-TV, the San Francisco CBS O&O, has found a way to use it to solve a long-standing problem with newsroom weather chroma-key set. "The camera is only five feet away, so backlighting of the traditional green screen was difficult and the talent often strayed into it, suddenly 'blooming' on camera," said Don McKinney, chief of studio operations at the station. "That area of the newsroom had only the same air conditioning as the rest of the room, so with the quartz lighting it would get extremely hot after only 10 minutes or so." McKinney found an answer to the station's problems in the form of a lighting material produced by Ceelite, a Bluebell, Pa.-based developer of LEC technology, that is normally employed only for residential nightlights and street sign/instrument panel/digital wristwatch backlighting.
Read the whole story .......

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WSB-TV ENG Van Explodes
November 18, 2009
ATLANTA: -- Two WSB-TV Channel 2 employees escaped serious injury Wednesday when their news truck exploded after touching power lines.Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones had just finished a live report with photographer Leonard Raglin at the Fulton County jail. They were driving from the jail when the mast, the telescoping pole that carries a microwave dish used to send video to the station, hit the power lines. The mast is supposed to be lowered if the truck is in motion.The resulting explosion left the truck heavily damaged and blew apart the road under the truck. The top part of the mast and the microwave dish toppled to the ground.Fire singed the front of the truck and the explosion left the side-view mirrors dangling off the vehicle.Jones and Raglin were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital to be checked. Read more........
z47 News Editors Note: All TV "Live" trucks are built with a safety feature that disables the engine if the mast is in the raised position.

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NAB To FCC: Keep Mitts Off Of TV Broadcast Spectrum!
Spectrum Comments Pour into FCC
November 18, 2009
Washington DC: The wireless industry is hotly pursuing the notion that using airwaves for broadband is a far better use of spectrum than TV. The Wireless Association (CTIA), along with the Consumer Electronics Association, asked the FCC this week to “investigate potential reallocation of broadcast spectrum.”
Several broadcast groups weighed in, echoing the NAB and MSTV comments and further saying such a reallocation would be anti-competitive. “Consumers value video programming more highly than any other content, and a reallocation of broadcast spectrum could conveniently eliminate the wireless industry’s most serious competitive threat--mobile DTV.,” 16 TV station groups said in a joint reply comment. “Indeed, a spectrum reallocation from television to wireless broadband would amount to the commission picking industry winners and losers.”
Read the whole story........

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Veteran WAGA-TV Anchor Jim Axel Dies of Cancer
November 14, 2009
ATLANTA - Axel had a long and distinguished career at WAGA-TV. He was with the station from the turbulent 1960's well into the 1990's. He reported on a wide variety of stories both from the anchor desk and from overseas. Jim traveled to Washington when Jimmy Carter left the White House and then flew on to West Germany when Americans taken hostage by Iran were finally freed after 444 days in captivity. Read the whole story........

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2009 Big Broadcast Survey
November 13, 2009
The annual Big Broadcast Survey (BBS) is the largest ever and most comprehensive studies of broadcast technology vendor brands and industry trends. The BBS provides insight into market trends and the perceptions of leading broadcast industry vendor brands by practitioners across the world. It also delivers vendor brand ranking in nine product categories; all of which can be segmented by geography and customer type.
Read the whole story........

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TV Viewing Reaches All-time High
November 11, 2009
More data from Nielsen suggesting that the number of hours Americans spend watching TV is continuing to increase despite people also spending more time in front of their computers and PDAs. The average person spends four hours and 49 minutes per day in front of the tube, up four minutes from the 07-08 season and rising 20% from 10 years ago.
Nielsen has tracked average household TV viewing all the way back to 1949-50. Today the average household watches 8 hours and 21 minutes per day. In 1949-50, the typical household watched about half as much -- four hours and thirty-five minutes.

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Happy Birthday to Sesame Street!!

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EDITORS NOTE: It's been many years since my five seasons as a camera operator on "Sesame Street". This story brings back many memories of hilarious outtakes with the Muppet's. The live studio portion of this classic is first-class television production of the highest level.
Joe LoRe' z47 TV News
November 4, 2009, CNN
'Sesame Street's' been swept,
but the magic of show remains
New York: In the early days of "Sesame Street" -- that is, B.E. (Before Elmo) -- Sesame Street was a pretty grimy place. The brownstone at 123 Sesame Street looked like it needed a serious power washing, the storefront of Mr. Hooper's shop was intentionally dingy and the Fix-It Shop's window was cluttered with toasters. It was gritty, but gritty in a magical way. When the show started in 1969 ("Sesame Street" will celebrate its 40th anniversary on November 10), the concept of educational television programming was nothing short of revolutionary. "Sesame Street" was originally intended as a learning tool for inner-city children -- not only as a supplement to their lessons in math and the ABCs but to teach them to be good people and show them that learning can be fun. Read the whole story....

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Broadcast Delivered 92 of Top 100 Shows for Week No. 4(2)
October 21, 2009
NEW YORK: Broadcast networks delivered 92 of the top 100-rated shows among people 18-49 during week No. 4 of the current TV season. For the week ending Oct. 18, 2009, football games delivered the most eyeballs, followed by “House” on Fox, “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC and “The Big Ban Theory” on CBS
Read the whole story....

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Hollywood Comes To Atlanta
October 21, 2009
Atlanta: The Famous Group, video and photo production company for the the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and Atlanta Thrashers hockey team, choose Oakcliff Studios to produce the teams 2009-2010 season promotional videos and still photos. Studio A's hard-cyc green screen was used for live action video while still photographers made Studio B their home base for yearbook and other hi-end photos.
Photos and more....

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Wired Explains: How 3-D Television Works
October 17,2009Wired
TV manufacturers want to bring that experience to your living room with 3-D displays that work much like the ones in the theaters. Major consumer-electronics companies, including Panasonic, Mitsubishi and Sony, are betting on 3-D, with compatible TV sets planned for the market in 2010.

Getting the 3-D effect at home involves tricking the brain into doing something similar with the images that it gets from a TV set. But that’s not a trivial problem: TV makers have to figure out a way to precisely show a set of slightly different images to each of your eyes. So how do they do that? Here are the key technologies that are making their way into 3-D TVs.
Read the full story

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Beermaker Buys “Saturday Night Live”
October 15,2009Television Broadcast
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES: Two networks sold TV shows into full sponsorships this week. Microsoft bought the airtime for an upcoming Fox special featuring Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy.” Beer brewer Anheuser-Bush bought the airtime in an entire episode of “Saturday Night Live” to push its new Bud Light Golden Wheat. The deal marks the first time an “SNL” episode has been sold to a single sponsor.
Read the full story

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On-Air Talent Takes on Prompter Duty at WTTG-TV
October 14,2009Television Broadcast
WASHINGTON: WTTG-TV’s on-air talent will soon be running their own prompters. Traditional prompter technician positions are being eliminated to save money, according to The Washington Post. The station intends to train its newscasters to run prompters with “a series of hand levers and foot pedals.” WTTG is the Fox O&O in the Washington, D.C. market. The Post said the strategy was part of a corporate directive, “corporate” referring to News Corp. It noted that viewers might see “some awkward cranking and pumping beneath the anchor desk.”
Read the full story

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Ad Loudness Bill Passes Subcommittee
October 9,2009TV Technology
“All of us have had the experience of enjoying a favorite program only to find ourselves scrambling to locate the remote control when at the commercial break the volume of the television seemingly doubles. The Advanced Television Systems Committee is expected to roll out its loudness standard soon, and while the industry was hoping to keep it voluntary, Eshoo said “the industry’s track record has not been so great in this regard,” according to Multichannel News.
Read the full story

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10 Things You Should Do Before You Upload Your Online Video
by Marc Hustvedt tubefilter News
Web video creator (and evangelist) Tim Street launched his first eBook today, “10 Things You Should Do Before You Upload Your Online Video,” giving an easy-to-digest, and free, checklist of things to do before clicking the upload button. The veteran web series producer recently rolled out his latest French Maid TV episode with sponsor Dimdim on board and knows a thing or two about putting out web series and viral videos.
Read the full story

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Litepanels introduces long-throw SuperSpot

Oct 5, 2009 Broadcast Engineering.com

Like all Litepanels fixtures, the 1x1 SuperSpot remains cool to the touch and uses a fraction of the power of traditional lighting fixtures. It offers an integrated control knob on the back that enables instant dimming from 100 percent to zero with minimal shift in color. Silent and heat-free, the fixture can be positioned comfortably close to a subject.
More Information

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SD Advertisements Still Dominate
October 2, 2009 Television Broadcast
It's a tough decision for an advertiser creating commercials to air on analog, SD and HD networks. Even if advertisers and agencies are producing SD and HD versions of advertisements, many commercials produced in 16:9 are downconverted to 4:3 in order to avoid letter-boxing. That's what happens when a 16:9 picture doesn't fit on a 4:3 screen, so black boxes appear above and below the picture.

While networks and producers are somewhat at odds over HD formats, networks are eager to attract HD advertisements. Thus far, only 11 to 15 percent of advertisements that air on television are in high-definition, estimates the Television Bureau of Advertising.
Read the whole story...

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TVB Tech Alert: Sony’s Single Lens 3D Technology
October 2, 2009 Television Broadcast

TOKYO: Sony today announced the development of a single-lens 3D camera technology that the manufacturer says is capable of recording “natural and smooth 3D images of even fast-moving subject matter such as sports, at 240 frames per second.” The technology comprises a new optical system that captures left and right images simultaneously, with existing high frame-rate recording technology to realize 240 fps 3D filming.
Read the whole story...

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Comcast Stock Drops-Cable Giant to Spend Billions to Buy NBCU

October 1, 2009 Television Broadcast

NEW YORK: Shares of Comcast dropped around 7 percent today on speculation the cable operator might buy NBC Universal from General Electric. Wells Fargo Marci Ryvicker said the deal would make sense as far as the cable assets were concerned, but the broadcast network would be a red-headed stepchild.......“While the company is not commenting, other than to say that speculation of a finalized $35 billion acquisition of NBCU is untrue, we do think that Comcast and GE are in the valuation process,” .... “The stock is likely to remain under pressure until there is a formal announcement from either company as to the structure and size of what’s to come.”
Read the whole story...

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kan Intros 'Cheesestick' Mounting Solution
September 29, 2009 Digital Video
The Ikan Corporation announces the release of their latest accessory, the Cheesestick, Jr. With this new mounting solution, the user can now attach monitor arms, power supplies, on-camera lights, on-camera monitors, media recording devices (hard drives, solid state drives, etc.) using the following connections: 1/4-20; 3/8-16 and M4-.7. Amongst the various Ikan products, it can be used as a connector for the AC-107 battery plate, the AC-106 battery plate, either of the new monitor arms (MA206 or MA210) and any of the monitors in the Ikan line.
Read the whole story...

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Meredith Selects Harris One for Atlanta-based Centralcasting Hub
CINCINNATI, September 21, 2009
ATLANTA: Meredith's Local Media Group, owner of 12 TV stations, has selected Harris to supply a fully integrated Harris ONE solution for the broadcaster's Atlanta centralcasting hub. The complete broadcast solution will allow Meredith to establish a centralized, file-based broadcast structure for its Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut stations that delivers an efficient workflow for its entire eastern U.S. operation.
Read the whole story...

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Can You Make Comcast's Digital Transition Without a Cable Box?
Comcast says it will provide one digital box and two digital adapters
By Rob Pegoraro The Washington Post
To watch the new programming choices and existing, newly converted channels, viewers with analog TVs will need to add some new hardware to their setup: either a digital set-top box or a less-capable "digital adapter" (which doesn't offer access to Comcast's electronic program guide or OnDemand service). Comcast says it will provide one digital box and two digital adapters "no additional monthly service cost." But viewers will still need to adjust to having another box, another remote control and another set of wires in their living rooms -- and the ones who have e-mailed me about this don't seem too happy about it. (The same thing happened when a much smaller cable firm, Herndon-based RCN, made its own digital switch last year -- although RCN reps compounded the problem by incorrectly blaming the move on over-the-air TV's transition from analog to digital.)
Read the whole story...

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JVC Introduces 1st Professional HD/SD-Blu-ray, Hard Drive, SDHC Card and More! Combo Decks
Built-in format converter can down-convert the HD content for recording to a standard DVD
By Sid Rodriguer Media Products
With the JVC SR-HD1500 and the SR-HD1250, users can record or author professional BDMV (with menu) or BDAV discs. Advanced MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (H.264) encoding provides support for HD and SD sources, and a built-in format converter can down-convert the HD content for recording to a standard DVD. These units support both BD-R and BD-RE (erasable) Blu-ray discs. Each of these decks offer a variety of digital inputs, including USB and I.Link (IEEE 1394) ports and an SDHC card slot, for wide compatibility with a number of digital SD and HD Camcorders. Composite and S-Video inputs are also provided for interfaces for support of analog legacy equipment. Users can transfer video from either a camcorder or other devices to the internal hard drive. Using a simple menu-driven interface, edited clips can be assembled into a completed project and recorded to Blu-ray discs. These discs can be authored for either auto-start or repeat playback as needed.
Read the whole story...

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3-D Television Expected To Come To Homes In 2010
Skeptics say that 3-D not ready for prime-time home viewing.
By John D. Sutter CNN
Submitted by Mike Spellman
ATLANTA: ESPN is test-recording some sporting events in 3-D, using cameras with two sets of lenses, which would make football players appear to jump out of home television screens during live 3-D broadcasts. And, although television makers haven't released specifics, the price of 3-D TV -- which requires a new television, broadcasting content and 3-D glasses -- is not expected to be substantially higher than some high-definition televisions on the market now.
Read the whole story...

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WXIA Local News Surprise
Ch 11 News Moving In The Right Direction
Atlanta: Tuesday, Sep 16, 2009 Joe LoRe'
Atlanta: Local TV stations are beginning to realize that providing information that directly effects their viewers is what gives them the competitive edge over their competition. This past Monday, Atlanta's WXIA Channel 11 dedicated one half of its 11 PM newscast titled: Tracking Your Stimulus Money to inform viewers where stimulus money -- tax dollars -- are going in the state of Georgia. The special feature is backed up with a special section at the 11 Alive web site. This is a refreshing alternative to seeing a "Breaking News" house fire covered by all of the local TV news programs.

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Mobile Video Use Up 70 Percent
THURSDAY SEP 3, 2009 Television Broadcast

NEW YORK: Americans are watching more video in more places and doing more stuff simultaneously, according to Nielsen’s latest Three Screen Report. The firm said that during the second quarter, the number of people watching mobile video increase 70 percent over the same period a year ago. Online viewing increased by 46 percent and average TV consumption remained at a seasonal high of 141 hours per month. Read the whole story...

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Anton-Bauer Offers LED Lighting Options
August 25, 2009 DV.com

Anton/Bauer, a brand of The Vitec Group, and a global provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries, is introducing its new LED EledZ and ULHM-LED light modules at IBC 2009 (Stand 9.D28b). Together with Litepanels, a sister Vitec Group brand, Anton/Bauer has developed the signature EledZ and ULHM-LED LED lights to complement the UltraLightSeries and ElipZ battery system. Read the whole story...

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Conservative Group Sues FCC!
Conservative group claims FCC violates FOIA
By John Eggerton -- August 22, 2009 Broadcasting & Cable

The group has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in an attempt to compel the FCC to turn over documents related to the DTV transition.
Judicial Watch filed its first FOIA request in February. This followed a press report claiming a telecom adviser to President Obama's transition team stood to benefit from the delay of the transition; the delay, it was stated, would slow up Verizon's rollout of a new broadband network that would compete with existing service Clearwire. Read the whole story...

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Panasonic Bows P2 Studio System
Creates low-cost way to launch HD news
By Glen Dickson -- , August 21, 2009 Broadcasting & Cable

As promised, Panasonic has introduced a new add-on system for its popular P2 HD solid-state camcorders that will allow them to be repurposed for studio use, creating a low-cost way for local stations to launch HDTV newscasts. Panasonic first talked about the system back in February, when it introduced its $10,700 AG-HPX300 camcorder. panasonic.jpgIn doing so, Panasonic is keeping pace with JVC, which already has several stations using its ProHD HDV-based camcorders as full-time studio cameras, and Sony, which has created an optical studio adapter for its XDCAM EX solid-state camcorders.
Read the whole story...

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WSB-TV Cox to Merge TV, Radio, Print
PRNewswire August 19, 2009

ATLANTA, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Media Group, Inc. announced today a new operating concept that reorganizes its media businesses by maximizing the expertise and talents of its media professionals across its portfolio of radio, television and newspaper businesses. This model is a departure from the company's traditional grouping of businesses solely by medium, and it responds to rapidly changing consumer and advertiser preferences.
"This new concept is another step toward fulfilling Cox Media Group's vision of operating as a fully-integrated media company," said Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Media Group. "Sharing expertise and best practices across all of our media properties allows us to better serve consumers and advertisers in our changing environment. In addition, each of Cox's media properties will benefit from expanded shared services such as Research, Sales, Digital, Finance, Human Resources and Engineering."
Read the whole story...

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WXIA Audio Operator Henson Passes Away
August 14, 2009 Posted By: Michael King 11Alive.com

ATLANTA -- WXIA lost a member of its own family Friday morning, when 11Alive audio operator Stan Henson passed awayafter a two-year-long battle with cancer.
Stan's broadcasting career began 36 years ago when he was hired by WSB Radio as a Programming Assistant in 1973. He remained at WSB Radio until 1981. During his radio days he worked as a producer for Neal Boortz and the WSB-Radio 750 Club -- but audio was Stan's first love, and in 1981 he went to work for WSB-TV as an Audio Operator where he was nominated four times for the Southern Regional Emmy Award for Excellence in Audio Production.
In 1994, Stan left WSB to form his own audio production company, SBH Audio Productions of Atlanta. His company engineered and produced recordings for Atlanta based musical groups.
WATL hired Stan in 1996 as an audio operator doing post-production and live events and Stan joined WXIA in 2001 running audio and studio camera work.
Needless to say Stan will be sorely missed, his positive attitude in the face of multiple set backs are an inspiration to all of us. Stan never gave up hope and was looking forward to getting back to work doing what he loved.

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White Balancing and Color Temperature in Videomaking
August 06, 2009 By Internet Video Gal
Two things a bit on the technical side when it comes to making video are color temperature and white balancing. They are related. This post tells you everything you need to know from a practical level about these terms and how they affect the way you shoot video. White balancing is an adjustment you make to the camera that tells it what kind of light you are recording in so that the camera records video the correct color.
Read the whole story...

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To Fix Aspect Ratios, Eliminate Television
TV Technology
by Mario Orazio, 06.22.2009
"Meantime, most Americans still watch 4:3 screens and get their TV via cable or satellite. Those redistributors don't assign techs to watch each channel and adjust the downconversion instantly based on what's on. They just lop off the sides (lest customers complain of annoying black bars)". Read the whole story...

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The Top-Ten Things I Wish I Knew About Final Cut Pro Ten Years Ago.
By Kendall Whitehouse on June 7, 2009
I've been an editor for a while now at several different shops. Through those days and places I have mostly been self taught until I ended up here with SuiteTake. At SuiteTake training and skill development is not just encouraged, but part of our daily responsibilities. Therefore, in the recent past my learning curve has increased dramatically.

More...

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A Short Treatise on Podcasting
Compiled From Various Sources By Sid Rodrigue
Podcasting has become one of the most unique, effective, yet inexpensive marketing tool and distribution channel. MORE ..........

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Control Room
In A Box

Try It !

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